Yarn cake holder



April 7, 1964 G. L. TODD YARN CAKE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheefl Filed Sept.27, 1962 April 7, 1964 cs. 1.. TODD YARN CAKE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 27, 1962 United States Patent 3,128,060 YARN QAKE HOLDERGrover Lee Todd, Wilmington, DeL, assignor, by mesne assignments, to FMCCorporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 27,1962, Ser. No. 226,578 Claims. (Cl. 242-1101) This invention relates toyarn cake holders and particularly to a holder for use with an undriedcake of yarn. More especially, the invention relates to a holder adaptedto support a yarn cake while the yarn is being removed in an axialdirection, that is, endwise of the cake.

In the manufacture of rayon, it is customary to collect the newly formedyarn while still wet in the form of what is known as a cake or cheese.The cake is in the shape of a slightly tapered thick walled hollowcylinder and the yarn is generally subjected to further processing whilein this form. Thus, the cake is washed to remove residual acid from theyarn and frequently the yarn is dried while still in cake form. Sincethe cake has no core or other support, it is apt to be mashed out ofshape during the various treatments. Before the yarn is sold, or at anyrate before it is processed into fabric form, it is usually necessary toremove it from the cake and package it in some other form. For example,the yarn may be wound onto spools or onto a beam. Since the yarn isliable to become tangled during the unwinding from a malformed cake,special devices are generally employed for supporting the cake while theyarn is being removed therefrom and it is toward the improvement of suchdevices that the present invention is directed.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved yarn cakeholder capable of supporting a cake in such manner that the yarn can beremoved therefrom without tangling.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cake holder soconstructed and arranged that the yarn may expeditiously be removedaxially or endwise of the cake without tangling.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved yarn cakeholder adapted to accommodate cakes of various sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved yarn cakeholder adapted to support a cake in a creel so that the tail of one cakemay be tied to the yarn of another cake whereby when the yarn is removedfrom the first cake the supply will be continued from the other.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention as well as thedetails of construction will become apparent as the description of apreferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

Referring now to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the device with certain partsremoved to show details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the device in a collapsed condition infull lines and in an expanded condition in dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partly in section and partly broken away,showing the means for expanding the holder into cake engaging condition;and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the construction of one of the cakeengaging elements of the device.

In its preferred form, the device comprises a hollow axial shaft 119, tothe lower end of which is connected an arm 11 by means of which it maybe mounted in a creel. A cake supporting annular flange 12 is secured toshaft 10 and articulated to said shaft are a plurality, four in theillustrated embodiment, of longitudinally extending cake engagingelements generally designated 13. As best shown in FIG. 4, elements '13are each formed of a pair of tele- Patented Apr. 7., 1964 scopingmembers 14 and 15. Members 14 and 15 are preferably formed of sheetmaterial and member 15 is provided with longitudinally extending flanges16 and 17 which slidably embrace the edges of member 14. By slidingmember 15 along the member 14 the over-all length of composite element13 may be adjusted.

Elements 13 are articulated to shaft 10 in the following manner. Acollar 18 is slidably mounted on shaft 10 and said collar is connectedby wire links 19 to each of the four members 14. Each link 19 ispivotally connected at one end to an ear 20 of collar 18 and at theother end to a tab 21 secured to member 14. Also slidably mounted onshaft 10 are a pair of collars 22 and 23 which are interconnected forunitary movement by a sleeve 24. C01- lar 22 is connected to members 14of elements 13 by wire links 25 each of which is pivotally connected atone end to an ear 26 of the collar and at the other to a tab 27 securedto member 14. As shown in FIGS. '1 and 3, links 19 and 25 associatedwith each cake engaging element cross one another. Collar 23 isconnected to members 14 by wire links 28 each of which is pivotallyconnected at one end to an ear 29 of the collar and at the other end toa tab 30 secured to member 14. As shown in FIG. 1, links 28 are parallelto links 25 and are the same length as links 25 whereby the cakeengaging elements are held parallel to shaft 11).

A spring 31 surrounding shaft 10 bears at one end against a sleeve 32pinned or otherwise secured to the upper end of said shaft and at theother end bears against collar 18 to urge said collar downward away fromsleeve 32. A spring 33 mounted around shaft 10 between flange 12 andcollar 23 urges said collar upward and through the sleeve 24 also urgescollar 22 upward toward collar 18. Because of the crossing linkages 19and 25, movement of collars 18 and 22 toward one another causes the cakeengaging elements to move radially outwardly from shaft 10. The links28, being parallel to links 25, assure parallelism between the cakeengaging elements and the shaft in all radial positions of saidelements.

A latch member 34 is mounted on a pivot 35 internally of hollow shaft10. Latch member 34 has an operating portion 36 extending beyond the endof the shaft and a latching nose 37 aligned with an opening 38 in theshaft. A spring 39 urges latch member 34 in the direction to causelatching nose 37 to protrude through the shaft open ing 38, as shown inFIG. 3. When cake engaging elements 13 are pressed toward shaft 10against the action of springs 31 and 33, collars 18 and 22 are movedapart from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 3and When collar 22 reaches the FIG. 3 position latching nose 37 movesoutward to overlie said collar and prevent springs 31 and 33 fromrestoring the collars 18 and 22 to the FIG. 1 position. When latchoperating portion 36 is pressed toward the right as viewed in FIG. 3,latch member 34 is moved against the action of its spring 39 to therebycause the nose 37 to release collar 22 and permit collars 22 and 18 tobe restored to the FIG. 1 position.

The two members 14 and 15 of cake engaging elements 13 are curvedtransversely and are of such a width that the longitudinal edges of eachelement are substantially touching the longitudinal edges of adjacentelements when said elements are in their inner positions, as indicatedin FIG. 2. Each member 15 is provided with a flange 40 extendingradially outward therefrom and extending sideways beyond thelongitudinal edges thereof. In FIG. 2 the cake engaging elements areshown in full lines in their inner positions and in dotted lines intheir outer cake engaging positions and it will be observed that in bothpositions the flange 40 of each element laps the flanges of the twoadjacent elements. As shown in full lines in FIG.

2, each flange 40 overlaps one adjacent flange and underlaps the otheradjacent flange. The outer edges of flanges 40 are concentric with theirrespective members 15 and when elements 13, of which members 15 are apart, are in their inner, latched positions the overlapping flanges forma circle, as shown in FIG. 2. When elements 13 are expanded to cakeengaging position, the outer edges of the flanges form a smoothlyscalloped curve.

When a cake as indicated in dot and dash lines 41 in FIG. 1 is to bepositioned on the holder, cake engaging elements 13 are moved to theirinner, latched positions and said engaging elements are expandedlengthwise by sliding members 15 along the members 14 so that the holderis longer or higher than the cake. After the holder is inserted throughthe hollow core of the cake, latch 34 is operated to permit springs 31and 33 to expand the cake engaging elements into contact with the hollowinterior of the cake. The interior of the cake is of less diameter thanthe fully expanded diameter of the holder so that engaging elements 13are held firmly in engagement with the cake and are thereby able to holdthe cake in shape. Members 15 are then pressed down until the flanges 40are in light engagement with one end of the cake, the other end of thecake resting on flange 12. If desired, a tail 42 of the yarn in the corearea of the cake may be led to the outside of the cake as shown in FIG.1 so that it may be tied to the end of the yarn from the outside ofanother cake, as is usual with packages mounted in a creel.

The yarn is withdrawn from the cake by pulling it through a guidelocated axially of the cake. With this sort of withdrawal, the yarnforms a balloon as it unwinds from the cake but as the cake becomesexhausted there is a tendency for it to slough off the end of the cakerather than form the balloon and the flanges 40 prevent this sloughingoff and the consequent tangling of the yarn. Some cakes are wound sothat the yarn moves clockwise as it unwinds and some are formed so thatthe yarn moves counterclockwise. The wire links 19, 25 and 28 aresufficiently flexible that some relative sidewise movement is permittedbetween the cake engaging elements and therefore with the elements inexpanded condition the ends of the flanges 40 may be relatively underandoverlapped to accommodate the different styles of winding. Thus,referring to FIG. 2, if the yarn moves counterclockwise duringwithdrawal, the flanges will be lapped as shown but if the yarn movesclockwise the ends of the flanges will be lapped opposite to the waythey are shown in the drawing. In this manner, the end of the flangefirst contacted by the yarn balloon is outside the preceding flange sothat there is no danger of the yarn being caught beneath any of theflanges. The opposite ends of cake engaging elements 13 are locatedclose to the flange 12 so that the yarn does not get caught between saidengaging elements and the flange 12.

Forming elements 13 of relatively longitudinally movable members notonly makes it easier to position the cake on the device 'but moreimportantly allows the flanges 40 to be positioned very close to 'theend of the cake even though all cakes are not of identical height. Inother words, the holder hereinabove described is usuable with a varietyof different sizes of yarn cakes.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention, what isclaimed is:

1. A yarn cake holder comprising an axial shaft, aplurality oflongitudinally extending-cake engaging elements supported by' saidshaft, said elements being movable radially of said shaft from innerpositions to outer cake engaging positions, means urging said elementsto their outer positions, a flange on the end of each of said elements,and said last mentioned flanges extending beyond the longitudinal edgesof their respective-elements and lapping the flanges of adjacentelements when said elements are in both their inner positions and theirouter cake engaging positions.

2. The cake holder set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said cakeengaging elements is formed of a plurality of relatively longitudinallymovable members, whereby the length of said elements may be adjusted.

3. A yarn cake holder comprising an axial shaft, a cake supportingflange secured near one end of said shaft, a plurality of longitudinallyextending cake engaging elements supported by said shaft, said elementsbeing movable radially of said shaft from inner positions to outer cakeengaging positions, resilient means urging said elements to their outerpositions, said elements being curved transversely, a first end of eachof said elements being located close to said cake supporting flange, aflange on the other end of each of said elements, and said lastmentioned flanges extending beyond the longitudinal edges of theirrespective elements and lapping the flanges of adjacent elements whensaid elements are in both their inner positions and their outer cakeengaging positions.

4. The cake holder set forth in claim 3 wherein said cake engagingelements are formed of telescoping members whereby the length thereofmay be adjusted.

5. A yarn cake holder comprising an axial shaft, a plurality oflongitudinally extending cake engaging elements supported by said shaft,said elements being movable radially of said shaft from inner positionsto outer cake engaging positions, resilient means urging said elementsto their outer positions, said elements being curved transversely andbeing of a width such that the longitudinal edges of each element aresubstantially touching the longitudinal edges of the adjacent elementswhen said elements are in their said inner positions, a flange on theend of each of said elements, and said last mentioned flanges extendingbeyond the longitudinal edges of their respective elements and lappingthe flanges of adjacent elements when said elements are in both theirinner positions and their outer cake engaging positions.

' -6. The cake holder set forth in claim 5 wherein said cake engagingelements are formed of telescoping members, whereby the length thereofmay be adjusted.

7. A yarn cake holder comprising an axial shaft, a cake supportingflange secured near one end of said shaft, a plurality oflongitudinally-extending cake engaging elements supported by said shaft,said elements being movable radially of said shaft from inner positionsto outer cake engaging positions, resilient means urging said elementsto their outer positions, said elements being curved transversely andbeing of a width such that the longitudinal edges of eachelement aresubstantially touching the longitudinal edges of the adjacent elementswhen said elements are in their said inner positions, a first end ofeach of said elements being located close to said cake supportingflange, a flange on the other end of each of said elements, said lastmentioned flanges extending beyond the longitudinal edges of theirrespective elements and lapping the flanges of adjacent elements whensaid elements are in both their inner positions and their outer cakeengaging positions.

8. The cake holder set forth in claim 7 wherein said cake engagingelements are formed of telescoping members, whereby the length thereofmay be adjusted.

9. A yarn cake holder comprising an axial shaft, a cake supportingflange secured near one end of said shaft, a plurality of cake engagingelements, means articulating said cake engaging elements to said shaftfor simultaneous movement radially of said shaft from inner positions toouter cake engaging positions, resilient means urging said elements totheir outer positions, latch means for holding said elements in theirinner positions means for releasing said latch means, said elementsbeing curved transversely and being of a width such that thelongitudinal edges of each element are substantially touching thelongitudinal edges of the-adjacent elements when said elements are intheir said inner positions, a first end of each of said elements beinglocated close to said cake supporting flange, a flange on the other endof each of said elements,

6 said last mentioned flanges extending beyond the longi- ReferencesCited in the file of this patent tudinal edges of their respectiveelements and lapping UNITED STATES PATENTS the flanges of adjacentelements When said elements are 495 720 Birdsau A r 18 1893 in boththeir inner positions and their outer cake engaging 2 60O840 Bruegger i1952 Pwtms- 5 2,971,721 Jones Feb. 14, 1961 10. The cake holder setforth in claim 9 wherein said cake engaging elements are formed oftelescoping mem- FOREIGN PATENTS bers, whereby the length thereof may beadjusted. 453,110 Italy Nov. 17, 1949

1. A YARN CAKE HOLDER COMPRISING AN AXIAL SHAFT, A PLURALITY OFLONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CAKE ENGAGING ELEMENTS SUPPORTED BY SAID SHAFT,SAID ELEMENTS BEING MOVABLE RADIALLY OF SAID SHAFT FROM INNER POSITIONSTO OUTER CAKE ENGAGING POSITIONS, MEANS URGING SAID ELEMENTS TO THEIROUTER POSITIONS, A FLANGE ON THE END OF EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS, AND SAIDLAST MENTIONED FLANGES EXTENDING BEYOND THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THEIRRESPECTIVE ELEMENTS AND LAPPING THE FLANGES OF ADJACENT ELEMENTS WHENSAID ELEMENTS ARE IN BOTH THEIR INNER POSITIONS AND THEIR OUTER CAKEENGAGING POSITIONS.